YG Entertainment has been teasing us with yet another "Who Is Next?" poster. The supposed date of comeback/debut is on April 1. That's in 2 days and we still have no idea as to who's actually next.
Like everyone else, I'm praying for a Big Bang comeback. It's long overdue. If there's anyone who needs to come out with an album, it's these 5. As a group. It's been 3 years since their last group album. Seriously. I know the members have been super busy despite not having a group album in years (what with all the solo releases and dramas and movies) but still. I need my boys together on a full-length album.
Truth be told, I am looking forward to Winner's comeback and Ikon's debut, but can they please wait until their sunbaes have had their proper comeback?
Also, I'm hoping that even though YG has a penchant for delaying releases, this is not their idea of a stupid April Fool's joke. I mean, it's not our fault for thinking this since, 1) YG is a troll, and 2) the target date is April first.
(Now watch as none of the above groups make a debut/comeback. Oh my lord, if it's someone else on their agency's roster, I'm gonna have to very effectively leave scathing comments on their website.)
Yes, yes. I forgot to write up my list of favorite songs for the second half of 2014. As I've said in my last post, I got super lazy last month and into the new year. So here I am, trying to squeeze this post before the first month ends completely.
As was with the first half of 2014, the second half of the year was just as kpop-filled and my playlist just kept getting bigger and bigger. And so, without further babbling, here are my 15 favorite songs from the second half of 2014.
The 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) took place last week in Hong Kong (again!) and many of our favorite idols and Hallyu stars flocked to the AsiaWorld-Arena to attend k-pop's most-awaited event of the year.
I watched the entire thing with bated breath from red carpet to end credits, and I was a hundred times thankful that they aired it live on local tv - on time and with no extended commercials (unless Mnet was airing commercials too).
While I was happy with most of those who were declared winners that night (i.e. Winner, "Some", "Eyes Nose Lips", Epik High, etc.) there were some disappoints as well (I swear 2NE1 deserved album of the year and the only reason they weren't even nominated was, well, we all know why). Nonetheless, I had a blast watching the show - all 6 and a half hours of it - and I can't wait for it to be available online for a re-watch.
Despite the lineup of artists being noticeably shorter this year, there was still a lot of fun to be had. So here are 10 of my favorite moments - both big and small - from the 2014 MAMA.
(in no particular order)
1. Last Fantasy - Aptly named a fantasy, this stage performance consisted of Ailee disguising herself as Girl's Day Minah's male dance partner. Totally cute!
2. SMTM3 Special Opening Stage - Not even gonna lie, I was beyond excited when I found out Bobby was not just going to be performing "Come Here" but "연결고리 (YGGR)" as well. Bobby hit the MAMA stage and slayed. (And Mino being all excited and proud was just icing on the cake.)
3. Battle of the Century - Indeed, it was. This Block B vs. BTS special stage was the perfect example of a battle done right. The stage highlighted the immense talent of both groups perfectly (and I'm not even a Block B fan). From their dancing (and Jimin's abs - which excited not just Girl's Day Yura and Sojin, but Winner's Seung-yoon as well), their rapping, stage presence, and overall performance skills - everything was on point.
4. IU-Mino Duet - Another star of the night was Winner's Mino, who shared the stage not just with fellow YG artists but also with this year's Best Female Artist IU. It was something I didn't know I needed in my life until it was happening before my very own eyes.
5. Media Wonderland - Seo Tai-ji made a comeback this year and I was looking forward to seeing his performance on the MAMA stage. I'm not a huge fan of "Sogkyeodong" or "Christmalo-win" but I did love his old stuff. And by old stuff, I mean his hip-hop stuff back when they were Seo Tai-ji and Boys. So imagine my shock when U-Kwon (Block B) and Jungkook (BTS) got out of their seats for a planned dance break to cue the start of Seo Tai-ji's performance of "Come Back Home". I was half expecting YG to appear on stage for his signature moves but alas, Vasco (SMTM3) and Zico (Block B) joined him instead.
6. Lee Guk-joo x Jo Se-ho - There's nothing I love more than when non-idols get the spotlight they deserve. And let's be honest, 2014 was the year of Lee Guk-joo. She's just refreshingly awesome. Also, was this the kiss Mnet has been leading us on with all this time?! LOL.
7. Mino x Song Seung-heon - Mino is hilarious. And nothing proves that more than the many shots of him from the artists' sitting area where he always had the best reactions. None of them better than when he feigned (or not?) disappointment when hottie Song Seung-heon chose to give IU his rose. Better luck next time, Mino.
8. Winner x iKON - If having Bobby and B.I sit beside the guys of Winner during award shows is a glimpse into the awesomeness of the YG Family's future, then count me in. These guys are hilarious individually, but even more so together. Simply put Bobby, B.I, and Mino together and wait for the magic to happen.
9. Kai's Dance Solo - Kai, as usual, was breathtaking. While it might take me awhile to get used to seeing EXO as a 10-member group, at least I will always find solace in Kai's dance solos. (For now?)
10. YG Family being a family - I'm just so happy to see YG Family gaining new members because it's suddenly all so refreshing. We might not have 2NE1 at the moment, and Lee Hi And AKMU were nowhere to be seen at the awards show, but having Winner and Double B around seemed to lighten up everyone's moods. Even GD seemed to be more into things this year. The GD x Taeyang stage was one the best we've seen from them in awhile. They seemed more into it and actually put a lot of effort in both their vocals and choreography. Maybe having fresh meat around is making these older sunbaes work harder than usual. Whatever it is, I'm liking it.
Epik High's performance was livened up as well by the presence of Mino, Bobby, and B.I (plus Yoo In-na!). And just seeing them all there in the audience was nice. Every time one of them won, you can see how proud and genuinely happy they were for each other. Ultimately, the night ended with a glimpse of our YG family posturing for a selfie (groufie?) with Taeyang trying to be seen from the back by jumping as high as he possibly can.
I've found I've always enjoyed MAMA stages the best, so now that it's over, I guess all I have to look forward to are the year-end music festivals from the 3 big networks. And then it's a whole year to go until the next MAMA. Hopefully, they find a new location for next year's show. I mean, Asia is a big place. Macau is done. Singapore is done. Hong Kong is done, done, and done. Somewhere new, please?
FINALLY.
At midnight last night (KST), YG Entertainment dropped Winner's debut music videos one after the other. After nearly a year of delays and holding back, the new YG boy group finally have their official entry into the k-pop industry. And the fans, myself included, are beside themselves.
The album, 2014 S/S, is a collection of songs written by the members of Winner alongside YG producers and co-trainees B.I and Bobby and is now available on iTunes.
I have yet to listen to all the songs, but based on the two title tracks, this ought to be really good. Both tracks are softer and more melodic than what I'd expect from a YG group, especially as lead singles. It's obvious that they've tried their best to not sound like Big Bang too much. Which is a very good sign.
I, for one, am excited for the boys to begin their music program promotions. I haven't heard of news about their television debut stage yet but their first official stage will be the AIA Real Life Festival Concert happening at the end of the week at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium alongside fellow YG artists and Lady Gaga.
Now I better scuttle off to listen to the album on repeat.
Last Friday night, I had arrived home late from work and was beyond tired. But I forced myself to stay up long enough to cast my vote for WIN: Who Is Next's final battle. Soon after hitting send on my KakaoTalk account, I fell asleep.
At a little after midnight, I woke up with a start realizing I had not even had dinner yet. But my top priority was to find out who was announced the winner and YG's new boy group. Team A won.
I'd be lying to myself if I said it was the expected outcome. The thing is, it was and it wasn't. As I've mentioned before, I think the show was made in a way that Team A would be announced the "Winner" after the 3-month period. Although, fan-voting could've changed the flow of things.
Team B has a strong fanbase, both in Korea and internationally. Most of the people I know in real life who watched the show as religiously as I did were all Team B supporters. At one point, I had to teach them how to vote via KakaoTalk and I soon regretted that decision, knowing that they'd be voting for the other team when I wanted Team A to win.
When the criteria for the final battle was announced, I thought to myself, "This was made for Team A to win, how obvious." I mean, we have three fantastic songwriters and lyricists in Team A and the battle's categories were as follows: 1) original composition, 2) dance, 3) same song, different arrangement. That's basically giving the groups the mission to create two original songs - except in the third category, a track was already pre-produced by Teddy Park, YG's main internal producer. This was a game designed for the first team to rule. Their only weakness was the second category - dance.
However, even then, I could not have just sat back and relaxed, assured of a Team A win. The fight and the passion were strong in the younger team, and also in their fans. B.I and Bobby most especially. So despite being beyond happy that my boys won last Friday night, I was in tears as I watched the raw version of the final episode, and was again in tears when I had to re-watch it with English subtitles.
I was surprised, actually, that I liked Team A's dance routine more than Team B's. Team B, while technically gifted and just awesome overall, lacked a certain je ne sais quoi to make them stand out. Yes, they were awesome, but they weren't different. What I loved about Team A's performance was the fact that you knew they had come to terms with who they are and what they are limited to. It seemed as if they understood they couldn't out-swag Team B, so they went down a different route and turned to their creativity and ingenuity to compete in a field that wasn't exactly their forte. And it worked. Kudos to Lee Seung-hoon for that awesome choreography.
While I have nothing but praises to give Team A in terms of their songwriting capabilities, I was beyond impressed with the emotions that the boys of Team B poured into their original composition "Climax." Bobby's rap alone already had me in tears (the second time I watched it, with the subtitles, of course), and by the time B.I took to center stage with his own verse, I was ruined.
It doesn't help that Team A went first and their song was about, not just the hardships of their own group, but of all eleven trainees, and how they all had to "Go Up" no matter the outcome of the show - needless to say, I had feels up the wazoo. These boys are a family. All eleven of them. And while I can't blame YG for doing this and pitting them against each other, it is sad that in order for them to reach their dreams, they had to step on the dreams of their own brothers.
On the other hand, because of how the show was designed, YG now has a clear grasp of what their market wants way before the boys even debut. And the boys now have a solid fanbase, as was clear in episode 9 where the boys held a fanmeet at Times Square, where 3,000 fans showed up. That must have been a first, given that they were just trainees at the time.
The final episode ended with everyone crying. And I don't just mean the eleven boys. Their families were in tears. The fans in the audience were in tears. Even YG himself was in tears. And everyone watching from their homes were in tears. You're lying if you tell me you watched the entire thing without bawling every other minute, and especially at the end when the guys were trying to balance between controlling their own emotions and comforting each other. Although they didn't quite succeed in biting back their tears, Lee Seung-hoon especially.
With the finale of WIN, it seems like the future of YG is looking strong. For years, they've relied heavily on Big Bang. Although Psy is doing very well now, what with his international career, for the longest time YG's biggest moneymaker was Big Bang. Even with the addition of 2NE1 in 2009 and Epik High in 2011/12, no one could overtake the popularity of Big Bang and its individual members.
Now though, especially with their signing on of young talents off of survival programs like KPop Star and Superstar K, the future of YG is not hinged on the success of Big Bang anymore. Winner will do great. And when the time comes that Team B is given the opportunity to debut, and they will, we already know that there's a huge fanbase waiting for them. Add that to the fact that Lee Hi has been doing very well, and that everyone is waiting for the debuts of Akdong Musician and Bang Yedam, it's safe to say that YG will remain in the top tier of agencies in Korea.
Having said that, can we please all take a moment to appreciate the maknae line (KPop Star line) of YG? These kids are not only adorable, they are freaking talented.
